Musing: Happy Mother’s Day!
Happy Mother’s Day to the countless mothers I personally known, have met and have admired — and of course, Happy Mother’s Day to my hero, my mom.
Earlier this year, my world was thrown for a loop when Mom learned that she had uterine cancer. While a fairly treatable cancer with a high success rate, there are massive racial and class-based disparities: white women have a much higher survival rate than their Black counterparts — mainly due to inequities in health care access. After a couple of delays, she finally was able to have a hysterectomy to treat it last week. Of course, because of COVID-19, I couldn’t be there with her and that filled me wit a deep anguish that I still feel today; but it’s Mother’s Day — and I’m glad she’s still here with me.
Mom has also shown me how to survive the most difficult and uncertain of times with dignity, strength and resolve — even while facing cancer. So Happy Mother’s Day, mom.
